Aibu? to be pissed off at this: "The cost and social implications of using an infant milk should be considered when deciding how to feed your baby."

[Selyna]

WTF do Hipp mean by social implications?

Both methods of feeding a baby are acceptable so fuck off with the whole acting like ff is poison! my dd is perfectly fine but i hate this constant making me feel like a failure because i failed to bf although i tried so so hard!

The examples given for social class 1 strike me as precisely the kind of occupations where one would most reliably have workplace facilities for pumping. Refridgerator, own office with lockable door, in position to feel entitled to ask for adjustments, et cetera.

As opposed to, say, agency temp work on an open-plan factory-floor, with no fridges and very small toilets like my last job.

Again your opinion ohanotherone if everyone did things the same it would be a boring world. Also I dont judge people whether they bf/ff, use nursery or go out.

No - they're not stupid enough to do that. So what they do instead is say that breastmilk is really great and that their product shares the same qualities.

And then they flood the media with images of laughing babies and dads doing night feeds. They set up Internet groups for mums, run helplines to hand out advice on breastfeeding and bottlefeeding staffed by people who usually have minimal training in supporting bf. They also target health professionals with their marketing by putting ads in professional journals and by their sponsorship of scholarships and public events. All designed to increase public trust and a belief that they don't put profits first.

I think it's a scandal that new mums are subject to such a colossal and pervasive amount of commercial pressure (which is what advertising is) on this issue. Baby's nutrition is too important to be left to the mercies of the market IMO. If it was up to me I'd ban ALL formula marketing and only allow information on formula put together by impartial third parties to be disseminated.

My mother fed all of her babies diluted evapourated milk. Didn't do them any harm at all...and was common practice in those days.

I fed my daughter SMA until she was weaned....and no noticeable effects there!

It was my choice...and I have no guilt. I did try to BF but neither I nor my daughter got on with it. FF worked for both of us...and I was reassured at being able to see exactly how much she was taking in.

Either option is FINE in my book!

Molly - I think that if many more babies got optimal nutrition in the first few months of life (ie their mothers milk) the world would be no less interesting than it is right now.

Shagmund - Yes but there are a multiple of reasons why people dont and I dont see why people should be forced if they have made the decision or couldnt do it like people on these threads that are avoiding baby groups as they are so ashamed to be ffing. I think thats terrible personally.

If it was up to me I'd ban ALL formula marketing and only allow information on formula put together by impartial third parties to be disseminated.

I would ban all militant BF'ers from trying to pressurise new Mum's into choosing to breastfeed.

I think the BF militants are quite CRUEL, SELF RIGHTEOUS, INSENSITIVE and BRAINWASHED to a degree!

I agree OP the health warnings are vile. They upset those who care and those who dont probably dont even notice them.

The thing I object to most are those aptimal tv commercials, but that is a different thread.

I find it strange that some people are about women being upset. If I posted on relationships that I was heartbroken because I had split up with some loser short term boyfriend no one would tell me I was being ridiculous. But I'm not allowed to be upset about how I was forced to feed my newborn daughters?

Its all a load of shit really Breast is best when it works well. In my case formula is best. End of!

Just a comment on the cost argument - I had to mix-feed DS because he was unable to latch properly until he was 12 weeks old. The costs of the BF side of things probably broke down as follows:

Lactation consultant (because NHS and NCT advice was no use): approx £150
Initial purchase of Medela pump: £80
Subsequent hire of decent hospital-grade pump: £90 (£30 per month)
Storage bottles: £10
Domperidone: approx £50
Fenugreek tincture: £15
Nursing bras: £50
Lansinoh and nipple shields: £20

Total cost: £465. And I had to buy formula as well!! It often struck me as funny that my efforts to BF DS (which had to stop at 18 weeks as my milk supply failed) cost more than fomula alone would have done for the same period

molly i think at most baby groups you'll see other women bottle feeding their babies. Given that the majority do so after the first 6 weeks..it would be an unusual M&T where you didn't...

Yes, I'd judge a dad who felt the need to go out on a bender with a tiny baby. Fair enough if it's a stag do of a relative or close friend, but just feeling the need to get shitfaced "because"? I'd judge.

sausagesandmarmelade Thu 03-May-12 13:56:45
I think the BF militants are quite CRUEL, SELF RIGHTEOUS, INSENSITIVE and BRAINWASHED to a degree!

hipp are formula manafacturers who have nothing to do with the Pro-BF lobby such as it is. They are the source of the statement the op objects to.

Also imagine if that mum stayed in and was isolated and then developed pnd from no support? Bfing isnt the only important thing to the detriment of all else. Its like threads where people make out people are selfish for going to work and using childcare. There should of course be support (which there is most places) classes, signs everywhere, midwives available by phone, la leche type places you can call), breast is best everywhere, breastfeeding groups, play cafes funded by surestart etc.

I work with families where there might be a multiple reasons why people dont breastfeed. Provide information but I dont think people should be railroaded in to things when they might have plenty of reasons why they cant/dont want to.

"I think the BF militants are quite CRUEL, SELF RIGHTEOUS, INSENSITIVE and BRAINWASHED to a degree!"

That's fine. There are very very few bf militants.

No way Ed???

I had no idea

we really do need a rolling eyes emoticom here

Fish - I spent about £60 on bras over 5 years. And nothing more.

You experienced difficult bf and also mixed fed. You bought in private care. And yet you still only spent what most people would spend on formula in a year!

sigh
molly, no one says bf is the only important thing, or must be pursued to the detriment of everything else. The decision whether or not to bf lies solely with the parents. People like me want their decision to be based on the actual facts, and with a knowledge of what the stats mean (so "lower risk of gastroenteritis, is still a risk and therefore what's the point" myths are dispelled, which are FRIGHTENINGLY common as this thread shows). Cultural influences and familial pressure based on what's best for them, or their own squeamishness or prejudice should be countered. I fail to see why anyone would think this is a bad thing. Why wouldn't anyone want to make a decision, based on true facts and their own feelings rather than a load of myths, hype and propaganda?

stealth I don't agree....I see a lot of them on here in threads like these (and elsewhere)...preaching to those who choose to FF

As I say....it's very cruel, smug, self righteous....

No need for it. It's no one else's business how a mother chooses to feed her baby....

stealth you are coming across as being incredibly patronising to Molly!

Do you not see the point Ed is trying to make?

well apologies for that.

To me the social implications of ff are; environmental (packaging, carbon footprint), cost to society (extra hospital visits for ff babies as a group), long term impacts of feeding children sub-optimal food in the first few months of life. You can argue all you like that FF is fine but it is a fact that it isn't as good as bm. Fantastic, amazing, life saving stuff in special situations but unecassary for most women (if we had enough support etc...).

I find it really odd that we live in an age when people care about what they eat - 'superfoods', diets, avoiding this and that, organic etc. But most people don't even know the ingredients of artifical milk and aren't aware that it is unregulated.

Everyone should read 'Politics of Breastfeeding'.

Stealth - I live in an area where except for the polish and the obsessive bfing types it is pretty rare for people to bf. The pros of breastfeeding are everywhere still though and in my eyes there is a ridiculous amount of support for it.

Although hardly anyone breastfeeds here I have never known anyone not do it as they are squeamish or think it is weird.

show me a militant BFer then?